Highly productive land
This page explains what Highly Productive Land (HPL) is, why it is important, and links to resources and the policy to protect it.
Highly Productive Land (HPL) generally encompasses 'versatile soils' described under the Land Use Classification System (LUCCS), which includes, but is not limited to land that is:
- highly fertile, flat to gently-rolling with few physical or climatic limitations for land-based primary production
- capable of supporting a wide variety of land-based primary production such as cropping, viticulture, berry fruit, pastoralism, tree crops and forestry.
The LUCCS is the main system used in New Zealand to describe the productive capability of land. HPL covers less than 15 per cent of New Zealand’s land area. Only 0.7 per cent of our land area is Land Use Capability (LUC) class 1, the most versatile category of HPL. LUC class 2 covers a further 4.5 per cent and LUC class 3 covers 9.2 per cent.
Highly Productive Land is particularly good for food production. Both exports and domestic food production rely on the small amount of highly productive land available.
Certain food production such as outdoor vegetable production are limited to HPL. Food exports are an important part of New Zealand’s economy, and having access to local affordable food is important for everyone’s wellbeing.
Development of the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land
Many cities developed around food-producing land, with access to local food supply. These areas are also in high demand for housing and development. This puts a strain on the use of HPL for food production. To protect HPL for primary production, the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land (NPS-HPL) was developed.
View the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land